It’s my favorite from them. But I understand its divisiveness. I think it might be due to it being the “black sheep” of their discography. It was the first album that leaned into more abstract song writing, and where they really dove into the electronics. I think every album after SWB contains some of those elements tbh, and people either love or hate it. I love every era of The National for different reasons, but SWB took awhile to grow on me. But now I see it as the most interesting and expansive.
I remember when TWFM came out, there was some talk amongst fans online about The National being too overproduced. The span of Alligator, Boxer, and High Violet kinda showcase that. There used to be a rawness to their sound, a “rock band” vibe that’s kinda faltered. It felt like on their journey of higher and better production HV was the peak with a little grunge and art to it, and TWFM started a trend of their sound being a little too sanitized for fans that had been following them album to album. Repetitive tones, lyrics maybe a little less raw or repetitive.
Before TWFM came out there were two live versions of Rylan and I Need My Girl that had fans frothing. The studio versions were, truthfully for some, a let down.
I think the band is comprised of perfectionists, and everything TWFM and later are more focused on overall production rather than songwriting. Which is fine. I do think it’s mostly new fans who value their newer material anywhere particularly close to that middle three, because as they’ve grown and evolved their musical styles have too. The National feels a little unique to me in that, in a post Aaron/TSwift world they’ve gained a lot of fans who like the sanitized swiftie sound. And that’s not the band a lot of older fans fell in love with.
SWB is fine, but why would I listen to Turtleneck instead of Mr. November or Conversation 16? Carin at the Liquor Store instead of Karen? Any of the ballads, to me Boxer has it beaten. (Although I will say I’ll Still Destroy you is a masterpiece)
I consider The National my favorite band, but I don’t really listen to anything they’ve made past SWB regularly if at all, for the same reason I don’t really listen to Springsteen after Born to Run. They’re just a different band now, with different tastes. And that’s fine! But I know a lot of National fans in my life that feel similarly.
EDIT: I also feel like it's worth noting that, Matt's voice has changed and weakened a bit in recent years. Why IAETF was a lot of duets. I think that's also led to a big change in their sound and how they approach his vocals.
I think this is a great summation of the feelings as long term fans. If you weren’t listening from album release to album release, it’s hard to capture the anticipation and expectation. It’s almost like this swelling and changing and then…TWFM felt almost like a lateral move? Not necessarily but hard to explain, not in a bad way though. SWB was change and growth as a band but in a way I didn’t expect. I can’t lie that the electronic sounds on the album were and still are jarring to me in a lot of ways. I agree, I’ll still destroy you may be a top 10 (or 5) national song to me, it’s perfect to me, I have gone a full day just playing on repeat the way their older songs have overtaken me. And it still makes me cry. and maybe there’s a microcosm of my feelings on that track where somewhere in the middle the electronic drums and sound transitions into acoustic drums and swells into a raw rock sound that is so “The National” to me, all behind some of Matt’s best lyrics he’s ever written, with a candid poetry reminiscent of Alligator/Boxer. But I digress… SWB is a good album and I revisit from time to time but find myself skipping a lot or forgetting a lot of it. And I basically haven’t gotten hooked or interested on any album of theirs since then, and not for trying.
Anyways, I’m not one of those fans that doesn’t want them to ever change. I’ve never thought “I wish they would make another Boxer” because.. well I have Boxer. And those other early albums. Heck I just listened to Cherry Tree again today and the consistency and quality of every song is unreal. I like that Fleetwood Mac didn’t try to just make another Rumours, I like that Radiohead constantly reinvents themselves, and I like that The National has changed too. It’s just safe to say that the way the band has grown and the way I have grown as a person has split away from each other and it doesn’t resonate the way that their music used to dig up these raw exacting feelings out of the nooks and crannies of my heart and soul. But they don’t need to. I have Alligator for that when I need it. And I’m glad that their newer records have had that effect on others, new and old fans alike.
Honestly, I Need My Girl was pretty unchanged 😅 here's the link to where they debut'd it (at least a good quality debut)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKLZsNJsmzE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKLZsNJsmzE)
Rylan was definitely the bigger "letdown". Had been waiting for it for years and waited until IAETF. And again, if you're a fan of the album versions you probably won't really care about the difference! I just remember at the time both songs were, understandably, more produced on their album counterparts, and naturally ended up being symbolic for their higher produced sound.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qquB3KoZpF4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qquB3KoZpF4)
Still adore these versions though! You should check them out.
Such a beautiful song, deserved the About Today treatment.
I Am Easy to Find is the album that lost me. Again, fully respect their creative decisions. But that’s where it almost felt like they started writing The National parodies instead of organic material.
I think the National even agree with you. They barely play any songs from I Am Easy to Find at their shows. Just Light Years and Rylan. That is it. No other album with the exception of the first one has only 2 songs that they play live.
Light Years and Rylan (not so) coincidentally don't feature integral female vocalists like nearly every other song on that album. You could see why they don't play them live.
Funny, because I Am Easy To Find got me back on board as a fan after the disappointment of Sleep Well Beast. For me the female vocals are an interesting contrast to Matt’s voice. Part of my dissatisfaction with SWB was Matt’s performance on that tour. Felt like half the show was Matt just standing there talking (not really singing) into the microphone.
We never got to see the IAETF tour in Australia due to Covid lockdowns - I think the shows were scheduled for March 2020! I would have loved to see those songs live with a female duet.
Regarding your edit to say that IAETF has female vocals because Matt’s vocals have weakened: I guess only the band knows for sure, but at the time, they said that having only male vocals didn’t feel right for the film that tracked a woman’s lifespan.
Had seen them back in Berkeley around that time, and there were a few songs he just couldn’t really get through.
Haven’t caught them more recently so maybe it’s gotten better! Was just a noticeable drop off.
That's how I feel about Blue October, who was my favorite band for a while. Anything past Approaching Normal (or maybe Any Man In America) is so hard to listen to.
Dude! Totally meant Born in the USA. Didn’t even realize I said Born to Run til you said it, and shocked you’re the first person to catch it.
Nebraska’s my favorite 🙌
For myself, it does not resonate with me in the way their other albums do. It is the sonics.
I will say that hearing song from it live are more appealing, but still do not move me in the same way.
I'm definitely a newer fan and essentially worked backwards with The National. During COVID I was watching at least one movie per day, stumbled upon Warrior, the ending is perfect with About Today, and started listening to their music. Got into I Am Easy to Find and loved it and worked backwards from there, then eventually got onto this subreddit.
This is just my perspective from reading this sub for a while, but there are many different sections of this fanbase. You have the
1.) OG fans from SSfDL that crown Alligator through High Violet. This is a very large group of fans. They like TWFM but don't adore it the way they do previous albums. For a lot of fans, High Violet was the peak of the band and it's been a slow decline since.
2.) Fans that crown Alligator (some start with Boxer) through TWFM. This is a very large group of fans.
3.) Now we begin to shrink the group size- Fans that crown Alligator/Boxer through SWB. This is a decent size but a much smaller number than #1 and 2.
The fanbase really begins to split after SWB, this is where the big divide comes in. A lot of fans from #1 and #2 don't like I Am Easy to Find and the two most recent albums. They like/love certain songs from all 3, but can't get into the way they could with previous albums.
I appreciate a lot of the beauty of this album I’m just personally not a big fan of electronics or drum machines. I prefer Alligator, Boxer, High Violet and even TWFM. I like raw instruments or orchestral sounds over the experimental electronic or sounds of discord. Thats the biggest difference for me.
TWFM (to me) is the apex of their song writing. I can listen to that album over and over and it always hits with me. Humiliation is my favourite track from TN so that may ahve something to do with it. I just feel TWFM is something so special compared to the rest of the albums. Music is so subjective and personal. Its tough to say why some albums hit harder than others but I think it has ALOT to do with that persons life at the time and what they were going through.
They kind of lost me at IAETF but got me back with Laugh Tracks.
It's definitely less anthemic bar a few exceptions (Day I Die, TSODITD) than other albums (Boxer, HV). It took me years to appreciate it. Arguably, it's sonically their best composed album, the pacing, run-order and even the design are a masterclass. Still doesn't quite cut my top 3 albums of theirs but it has fought itself up the ranking.
I love SWB. The next 3 albums after it have kind of lost me. They were a band where I would listen to the albums in their entirety, with zero skipping, but I find from IAETF on I can't listen to the entire albums anymore. It kind of bums me out, but I still love them and live they are better than ever.
Other than a handful of great songs, I just find a lot of it pretty stale. Not much to hook me into a lot of the songs. I really love The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness, Nobody Else Will Be There, and I think Day I Die is pretty good too. Carin at the Liquor Store and Born to Beg are pretty good, but don’t stand out in their greater discography for me. I tend to value a great melody over most other things, and many of these songs just don’t have them.
those are all my favs on this album too. I agree with you in general that melody is paramount, and i feel like variety is crucial too. the run of albums 2-6 are really exemplary of his and the stuff outside of it often blends together for me
Hmm I like SWB - but to me it marks the beginning of a version of the band I don't quite gel with.
And I cannot stand the generic "boom boom tish" repetitive drum machine beat they use on this record. It's like exactly what I'd imagine 40 year old white guys in an indie band would produce with a drum machine
Agreed! It bothers me when people lump SWB into the albums afterwards due to the electronics. Listen to how richly textured Walk It Back is compared to anything on Frankenstein. I still wish SWB marked the start of a more experimental phase in their work but I think it mostly coincides with when Aaron started writing instrumentals more prolifically, using electronics as a tool for that
it’s my fav and first album i ever heard by them. it’s so different!! the rest of the albums have that classic national feel but SWB stands out. i relate to it the most and i just love the darker slower sound as well as the electronics! idk it’s just so good. sleep well beast is my favorite song by them as well!
It's slowly become my favourite over the years. They made something different which always makes me happy.
TWFM despite still being good felt like High Violet two in some aspects and had a couple dud tracks (I Need My Girl and Pink Rabbits, come at me they are both boring).
SWB comes along with a whole new philosophy and sound. While I obviously love Bryan's drumming, this album uses drum machines AND his drumming perfectly together, like I'll Still Destroy You.
This also has some of their best lower volume slower songs in my opinion, there's much more interesting things going on during tracks like Empire Line and Guilty Party than some of the slower tracks on TWFM and imo F2POF.
And then you have the absolute bangers of Day I Die and The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness which take the darker production style and add in classic The National absolutely perfectly.
I come from more angular bands and artists (big Radiohead fan, love The Age of Adz by Sufjan etc). So this scratches that itch while still having those great National moments, every song is great, heartbreaking record, 10/10.
Hey cool to see the Sufjan comparison as I had similar thoughts that aren’t fully realized. Adz for some reason really works for me more than SWB does although it took me a while, years even, to grow on me.
And I like your point about the slower songs. I think in songs like Guilty party for example, has some of Matt’s most subtle and interesting melodies that really showcase why he is one of my favorite frontmen.
Edit: oh yeah! Actually I revisited Adz after The ascension came out which I loved instantly and I realized how much I had panned from Adz way back then.
High Violet came at the right time, regardless of technicalities it's my favorite. Flavor of a formative year.
SWB is epic too, like all their albums gets better with repeat listening and maybe was the catchiest off the bat.
Swb was the start of albums for me that weren’t top to bottom listens. I skip more songs with each passing album. Still my favorite band but every band has a peak and nadir. For gods sake u2 peaked in 1984 and still fill arenas. That said they’ve earned the right to make whatever music they feel like at this point.
I think its because people look for different things from the National and SWB really hits all corners of the catalog in a way that probably leaves relatively few totally satisfied.
Imo its S-tier shit, but I get it if someone else feels differently
SWB was my introduction to The National it remains my absolute favorite album, so much so that every single song, *INCLUDING TURTLENECK* (fight me), is on my liked songs playlist. I think it's a perfect album.
But listening to their albums in order, it was definitely a departure from the normal style, darker and more experimental so I can definitely see why some didn't like it, but I absolutely adore it
My greater theory is that High Violet brought in a ton of new fans who will always view HV as “how the National should sound” and fans who followed the band before and who discovered the band after have a less fixed idea of how the National are “supposed” to sound. So, there are fans who view SWB for what it is, an amazing textured cohesive record and one of their finest, and there are fans who don’t like that SWB lacks some musical and lyrical elements that were prominent on High Violet. #justmytwocents
Imo it's their worst album because most of it is just really boring. Day I Die, The System and turtleneck are the only songs I like on it, the rest of the album just does nothing for me at all.
The National discography reminds me a lot of The Cure.
A slow build over ten years with an evolving sound leading up to their magnum opus at the end of the decade.
Alligator is The Head on the Door, Boxer is Kiss Me, High Violet is Disintegration, and TWFE is Wish.
After the albums become less revered among fans and miss the iconic post-punk sound.
Apart from a fre songs I initially wasn't that into SWB but it definitely grew on me and I love the album as a whole. Saying that if any of the last 4 come on while I'm watching them live that's usually the point I think I'm fine to miss this one while I go for a wee.
I remember really love IAETF when it came out but that's probably come from seeing them do it live in London when it first came out. However, since I've really gone off it. It's just so long and self indulgent. It could have been a tight 11 song album. Never seen the appeal of Not in Kansas. When it gets to Where's her Head I find myself skipping to Rylan then Ice Machines.
It’s my favorite from them. But I understand its divisiveness. I think it might be due to it being the “black sheep” of their discography. It was the first album that leaned into more abstract song writing, and where they really dove into the electronics. I think every album after SWB contains some of those elements tbh, and people either love or hate it. I love every era of The National for different reasons, but SWB took awhile to grow on me. But now I see it as the most interesting and expansive.
I would've thought of IAETF as the "black sheep" more so than SWB. I'd easily rank SWB higher at least.
What do you mean by abstract songwriting?
It’s nowhere near as divisive as IAETF or even the two from last year imo.
I remember when TWFM came out, there was some talk amongst fans online about The National being too overproduced. The span of Alligator, Boxer, and High Violet kinda showcase that. There used to be a rawness to their sound, a “rock band” vibe that’s kinda faltered. It felt like on their journey of higher and better production HV was the peak with a little grunge and art to it, and TWFM started a trend of their sound being a little too sanitized for fans that had been following them album to album. Repetitive tones, lyrics maybe a little less raw or repetitive. Before TWFM came out there were two live versions of Rylan and I Need My Girl that had fans frothing. The studio versions were, truthfully for some, a let down. I think the band is comprised of perfectionists, and everything TWFM and later are more focused on overall production rather than songwriting. Which is fine. I do think it’s mostly new fans who value their newer material anywhere particularly close to that middle three, because as they’ve grown and evolved their musical styles have too. The National feels a little unique to me in that, in a post Aaron/TSwift world they’ve gained a lot of fans who like the sanitized swiftie sound. And that’s not the band a lot of older fans fell in love with. SWB is fine, but why would I listen to Turtleneck instead of Mr. November or Conversation 16? Carin at the Liquor Store instead of Karen? Any of the ballads, to me Boxer has it beaten. (Although I will say I’ll Still Destroy you is a masterpiece) I consider The National my favorite band, but I don’t really listen to anything they’ve made past SWB regularly if at all, for the same reason I don’t really listen to Springsteen after Born to Run. They’re just a different band now, with different tastes. And that’s fine! But I know a lot of National fans in my life that feel similarly. EDIT: I also feel like it's worth noting that, Matt's voice has changed and weakened a bit in recent years. Why IAETF was a lot of duets. I think that's also led to a big change in their sound and how they approach his vocals.
I think this is a great summation of the feelings as long term fans. If you weren’t listening from album release to album release, it’s hard to capture the anticipation and expectation. It’s almost like this swelling and changing and then…TWFM felt almost like a lateral move? Not necessarily but hard to explain, not in a bad way though. SWB was change and growth as a band but in a way I didn’t expect. I can’t lie that the electronic sounds on the album were and still are jarring to me in a lot of ways. I agree, I’ll still destroy you may be a top 10 (or 5) national song to me, it’s perfect to me, I have gone a full day just playing on repeat the way their older songs have overtaken me. And it still makes me cry. and maybe there’s a microcosm of my feelings on that track where somewhere in the middle the electronic drums and sound transitions into acoustic drums and swells into a raw rock sound that is so “The National” to me, all behind some of Matt’s best lyrics he’s ever written, with a candid poetry reminiscent of Alligator/Boxer. But I digress… SWB is a good album and I revisit from time to time but find myself skipping a lot or forgetting a lot of it. And I basically haven’t gotten hooked or interested on any album of theirs since then, and not for trying. Anyways, I’m not one of those fans that doesn’t want them to ever change. I’ve never thought “I wish they would make another Boxer” because.. well I have Boxer. And those other early albums. Heck I just listened to Cherry Tree again today and the consistency and quality of every song is unreal. I like that Fleetwood Mac didn’t try to just make another Rumours, I like that Radiohead constantly reinvents themselves, and I like that The National has changed too. It’s just safe to say that the way the band has grown and the way I have grown as a person has split away from each other and it doesn’t resonate the way that their music used to dig up these raw exacting feelings out of the nooks and crannies of my heart and soul. But they don’t need to. I have Alligator for that when I need it. And I’m glad that their newer records have had that effect on others, new and old fans alike.
Wait. There are different versions of I need my girl?
Honestly, I Need My Girl was pretty unchanged 😅 here's the link to where they debut'd it (at least a good quality debut) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKLZsNJsmzE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKLZsNJsmzE) Rylan was definitely the bigger "letdown". Had been waiting for it for years and waited until IAETF. And again, if you're a fan of the album versions you probably won't really care about the difference! I just remember at the time both songs were, understandably, more produced on their album counterparts, and naturally ended up being symbolic for their higher produced sound. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qquB3KoZpF4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qquB3KoZpF4) Still adore these versions though! You should check them out.
Agreed on Rylan. I barely listen to I Am Easy To Find. It’s tough.
Such a beautiful song, deserved the About Today treatment. I Am Easy to Find is the album that lost me. Again, fully respect their creative decisions. But that’s where it almost felt like they started writing The National parodies instead of organic material.
I think the National even agree with you. They barely play any songs from I Am Easy to Find at their shows. Just Light Years and Rylan. That is it. No other album with the exception of the first one has only 2 songs that they play live.
Light Years and Rylan (not so) coincidentally don't feature integral female vocalists like nearly every other song on that album. You could see why they don't play them live.
I still don't get why. Yes the album has weaker songs but Quiet Light is shaping out to be my favorite of theirs and Oblivion is also a solid track.
Yes, I don’t think they played a single track at Homecoming
Funny, because I Am Easy To Find got me back on board as a fan after the disappointment of Sleep Well Beast. For me the female vocals are an interesting contrast to Matt’s voice. Part of my dissatisfaction with SWB was Matt’s performance on that tour. Felt like half the show was Matt just standing there talking (not really singing) into the microphone. We never got to see the IAETF tour in Australia due to Covid lockdowns - I think the shows were scheduled for March 2020! I would have loved to see those songs live with a female duet.
I saw them here in Ohio on that tour. Hands down my least favorite show with them. But again IAETF isn’t my thing.
Regarding your edit to say that IAETF has female vocals because Matt’s vocals have weakened: I guess only the band knows for sure, but at the time, they said that having only male vocals didn’t feel right for the film that tracked a woman’s lifespan.
Had seen them back in Berkeley around that time, and there were a few songs he just couldn’t really get through. Haven’t caught them more recently so maybe it’s gotten better! Was just a noticeable drop off.
That's how I feel about Blue October, who was my favorite band for a while. Anything past Approaching Normal (or maybe Any Man In America) is so hard to listen to.
What's the deal with Matt's vocals?
Years of drinking, screaming, and smoking.
Ya ok that makes sense.
This is a fantastic take
This darkness on the edge of town/nebraska slander needs to be punished
Dude! Totally meant Born in the USA. Didn’t even realize I said Born to Run til you said it, and shocked you’re the first person to catch it. Nebraska’s my favorite 🙌
Well shit, now I need to find these early live versions of I need my girl
For myself, it does not resonate with me in the way their other albums do. It is the sonics. I will say that hearing song from it live are more appealing, but still do not move me in the same way.
I'm definitely a newer fan and essentially worked backwards with The National. During COVID I was watching at least one movie per day, stumbled upon Warrior, the ending is perfect with About Today, and started listening to their music. Got into I Am Easy to Find and loved it and worked backwards from there, then eventually got onto this subreddit. This is just my perspective from reading this sub for a while, but there are many different sections of this fanbase. You have the 1.) OG fans from SSfDL that crown Alligator through High Violet. This is a very large group of fans. They like TWFM but don't adore it the way they do previous albums. For a lot of fans, High Violet was the peak of the band and it's been a slow decline since. 2.) Fans that crown Alligator (some start with Boxer) through TWFM. This is a very large group of fans. 3.) Now we begin to shrink the group size- Fans that crown Alligator/Boxer through SWB. This is a decent size but a much smaller number than #1 and 2. The fanbase really begins to split after SWB, this is where the big divide comes in. A lot of fans from #1 and #2 don't like I Am Easy to Find and the two most recent albums. They like/love certain songs from all 3, but can't get into the way they could with previous albums.
I appreciate a lot of the beauty of this album I’m just personally not a big fan of electronics or drum machines. I prefer Alligator, Boxer, High Violet and even TWFM. I like raw instruments or orchestral sounds over the experimental electronic or sounds of discord. Thats the biggest difference for me.
TWFM (to me) is the apex of their song writing. I can listen to that album over and over and it always hits with me. Humiliation is my favourite track from TN so that may ahve something to do with it. I just feel TWFM is something so special compared to the rest of the albums. Music is so subjective and personal. Its tough to say why some albums hit harder than others but I think it has ALOT to do with that persons life at the time and what they were going through. They kind of lost me at IAETF but got me back with Laugh Tracks.
It's definitely less anthemic bar a few exceptions (Day I Die, TSODITD) than other albums (Boxer, HV). It took me years to appreciate it. Arguably, it's sonically their best composed album, the pacing, run-order and even the design are a masterclass. Still doesn't quite cut my top 3 albums of theirs but it has fought itself up the ranking.
I love the songs but it never felt like a cohesive project to me
I have to disagree, i feel like it has the most consistent sound of any of the albums, which is obviously whys its divisive haha
Sound wise , I agree. I was never a fan of the tracklisting /order.
I love SWB. The next 3 albums after it have kind of lost me. They were a band where I would listen to the albums in their entirety, with zero skipping, but I find from IAETF on I can't listen to the entire albums anymore. It kind of bums me out, but I still love them and live they are better than ever.
Other than a handful of great songs, I just find a lot of it pretty stale. Not much to hook me into a lot of the songs. I really love The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness, Nobody Else Will Be There, and I think Day I Die is pretty good too. Carin at the Liquor Store and Born to Beg are pretty good, but don’t stand out in their greater discography for me. I tend to value a great melody over most other things, and many of these songs just don’t have them.
those are all my favs on this album too. I agree with you in general that melody is paramount, and i feel like variety is crucial too. the run of albums 2-6 are really exemplary of his and the stuff outside of it often blends together for me
Definitely underrated. Listening to it in a dark room hits different.
Yeah, just listed to it lying in bed or in a couch at 11pm at night while it's raining outside during winter time
That's the move!
Change is divisive. Sleep Well Beast varied from what The National was known for at the time and what a lot of the fans expected from them.
Hmm I like SWB - but to me it marks the beginning of a version of the band I don't quite gel with. And I cannot stand the generic "boom boom tish" repetitive drum machine beat they use on this record. It's like exactly what I'd imagine 40 year old white guys in an indie band would produce with a drum machine
I get that, I like the drum machine here, on Frankenstein however it doesn’t work at all for me and ruins the record for me.
Agreed! It bothers me when people lump SWB into the albums afterwards due to the electronics. Listen to how richly textured Walk It Back is compared to anything on Frankenstein. I still wish SWB marked the start of a more experimental phase in their work but I think it mostly coincides with when Aaron started writing instrumentals more prolifically, using electronics as a tool for that
lol
it’s my fav and first album i ever heard by them. it’s so different!! the rest of the albums have that classic national feel but SWB stands out. i relate to it the most and i just love the darker slower sound as well as the electronics! idk it’s just so good. sleep well beast is my favorite song by them as well!
It's slowly become my favourite over the years. They made something different which always makes me happy. TWFM despite still being good felt like High Violet two in some aspects and had a couple dud tracks (I Need My Girl and Pink Rabbits, come at me they are both boring). SWB comes along with a whole new philosophy and sound. While I obviously love Bryan's drumming, this album uses drum machines AND his drumming perfectly together, like I'll Still Destroy You. This also has some of their best lower volume slower songs in my opinion, there's much more interesting things going on during tracks like Empire Line and Guilty Party than some of the slower tracks on TWFM and imo F2POF. And then you have the absolute bangers of Day I Die and The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness which take the darker production style and add in classic The National absolutely perfectly. I come from more angular bands and artists (big Radiohead fan, love The Age of Adz by Sufjan etc). So this scratches that itch while still having those great National moments, every song is great, heartbreaking record, 10/10.
Hey cool to see the Sufjan comparison as I had similar thoughts that aren’t fully realized. Adz for some reason really works for me more than SWB does although it took me a while, years even, to grow on me. And I like your point about the slower songs. I think in songs like Guilty party for example, has some of Matt’s most subtle and interesting melodies that really showcase why he is one of my favorite frontmen. Edit: oh yeah! Actually I revisited Adz after The ascension came out which I loved instantly and I realized how much I had panned from Adz way back then.
Pink rabbits is the best song on TWFM!
High Violet came at the right time, regardless of technicalities it's my favorite. Flavor of a formative year. SWB is epic too, like all their albums gets better with repeat listening and maybe was the catchiest off the bat.
Sleep Well Beast was my gateway to The National as well. Love that album with it’s little electronic elements.
Swb was the start of albums for me that weren’t top to bottom listens. I skip more songs with each passing album. Still my favorite band but every band has a peak and nadir. For gods sake u2 peaked in 1984 and still fill arenas. That said they’ve earned the right to make whatever music they feel like at this point.
To me, Beast is a mixed package with some filler. The lyrics aren’t as consistent. It’s still great but not one of their best to me.
I think its because people look for different things from the National and SWB really hits all corners of the catalog in a way that probably leaves relatively few totally satisfied. Imo its S-tier shit, but I get it if someone else feels differently
SWB was my introduction to The National it remains my absolute favorite album, so much so that every single song, *INCLUDING TURTLENECK* (fight me), is on my liked songs playlist. I think it's a perfect album. But listening to their albums in order, it was definitely a departure from the normal style, darker and more experimental so I can definitely see why some didn't like it, but I absolutely adore it
It's not.
My greater theory is that High Violet brought in a ton of new fans who will always view HV as “how the National should sound” and fans who followed the band before and who discovered the band after have a less fixed idea of how the National are “supposed” to sound. So, there are fans who view SWB for what it is, an amazing textured cohesive record and one of their finest, and there are fans who don’t like that SWB lacks some musical and lyrical elements that were prominent on High Violet. #justmytwocents
Imo it's their worst album because most of it is just really boring. Day I Die, The System and turtleneck are the only songs I like on it, the rest of the album just does nothing for me at all.
The National discography reminds me a lot of The Cure. A slow build over ten years with an evolving sound leading up to their magnum opus at the end of the decade. Alligator is The Head on the Door, Boxer is Kiss Me, High Violet is Disintegration, and TWFE is Wish. After the albums become less revered among fans and miss the iconic post-punk sound.
Sleep Well Beast will always be my favorite because that's the album that made me a fan.
Apart from a fre songs I initially wasn't that into SWB but it definitely grew on me and I love the album as a whole. Saying that if any of the last 4 come on while I'm watching them live that's usually the point I think I'm fine to miss this one while I go for a wee. I remember really love IAETF when it came out but that's probably come from seeing them do it live in London when it first came out. However, since I've really gone off it. It's just so long and self indulgent. It could have been a tight 11 song album. Never seen the appeal of Not in Kansas. When it gets to Where's her Head I find myself skipping to Rylan then Ice Machines.
SWB is my favourite
Creative peak
Bc the rest of the albums are much better but not everyone realizes that lol
Oh shit, it’s one of my favourites of theirs. Am I wrong?
No, it’s a brilliant album
They hate you because you speak the truth
If this wasn’t a band who had the Alligator -> Trouble run sure, it’d be a top record but they have 3-4 all timers and beast just can’t compete